Page 2 of Lilly

"Yeah, just a minute." My makeup is fixed and now I'm just running some product through my hair to tame the flyaways. "Okay, I'm ready." I leave the bathroom and go into Reed's bedroom. He has a really nice room, with dark gray walls, thick, plush carpet, and brand new furniture, including a large drafting table where he does his sketches.

Reed's dad, Dean, lives in a luxury, hi-rise apartment in the heart of L.A.. He used to have a one-bedroom, but last year, after Reed's mom took off, Dean upgraded to a two-bedroom so Reed would have a place to stay. Dean must make a lot of money as a tour manager because the rent at a place like this would be really high.

"You look beautiful," Reed says, coming up to me and giving me a kiss.

"You look good too," I say, eyeing him in his dark gray suit. His dad bought him the suit a few months ago for a charity event we were going to. Rachel was on the planning committee for the event so the whole family showed up for it and I brought Reed as my date. The event was held at a fancy hotel along the coast so we had to dress up and Reed didn't have a suit. He was going to buy one himself but his dad offered to pay for it and ended up getting him a really expensive designer suit.

I'm still surprised at the way Dean has embraced his role as a father after years of basically ignoring Reed. I know Dean traveled a lot for work but you'd think he would've at least checked in on Reed over the years to make sure he was okay. Maybe if he had, he could've saved Reed from all the emotional abuse he had to suffer through living with his mom.

The doorbell rings.

"I'll get it." I hurry out to the living room with Reed right behind me. I open the door and find my dad giving Rachel a kiss. Those two are constantly kissing. They're worse than Reed and me. They might even kiss more than Jade and Garret, which is saying a lot because those two kiss constantly.

I clear my throat and my parents immediately break apart.

Rachel smiles at me. "Hi, honey. We didn't hear the door open."

"Yeah, I figured that," I say.

Reed is beside me, trying to stifle a laugh. He thinks it's hilarious the way my parents are constantly kissing and holding hands. Or maybe he just finds it funny that I get so embarrassed by it. But it IS embarrassing. They're in their fifties, for crying out loud. If anyone should be caught kissing in public, it should be Reed and me, not my parents. I guess I shouldn't complain. It's nice to see them still so in love after all these years.

"How was the fundraiser?" I ask, stepping aside to let them in.

"Wonderful," Rachel says. "It was a lovely event at a beautiful place."

The fundraiser was to raise money for children's cancer research. It was held at some rich person's mansion that has a huge flower garden in the back of the property. Rachel showed me pictures online before they went. It looked more like a botanical center than a person's back yard.

"Your mother couldn't get enough of the flowers," my dad says. He refers to Rachel as my mom even though she's not. But I consider her to be like a second mom so I call her 'mom' except for when my real mom is around. She'd kill me if she heard me call Rachel 'mom' and then she'd probably kill Rachel. She hates her, and hates the fact that Rachel raised me from the age of 13.

"It was even more beautiful than the photos I showed you," Rachel says. "I wish you could've been there."

I glance at Reed. "I guess we could've gone, but you know I always get bored at those things."

There's also the fact that I wanted to be alone with my boyfriend, but I don't need to mention that. My parents know that's the main reason why I didn't go to the fundraiser. The other reason is just as I said. I get bored at those events. It's just a bunch of rich people talking about how rich they are and pretending to be friends with each other even though they're not. I lived in that world before my parents divorced and I don't want to go back to it.

Rachel and my dad attend these high-society events but I'm not sure why. My dad says he doesn't like going to them and yet he still does, maybe because he's expected to, as a Kensington and billionaire and well-known businessman.

"Did you enjoy the museum?" my dad asks.

He knows we didn't go. I can tell by how he asked the question. He's testing me to see what I'll say.

"We didn't end up going," I say, because if I don't, he'll lecture me later about lying to him. I don't know how he does it but my dad is able to read people like no one else. He knows when people are lying or even just stretching the truth.

"I wasn't feeling that great," Reed says, "so we stayed here and watched movies."

He lied. Dammit. I know he was only trying to help, but it'll just anger my dad.

"You don't look sick," he says, crossing his arms over his chest.

Reed quickly nods. "Yeah, I'm sorry, Mr. Kensington. I shouldn't have said that. I'm not really sick."

"Then why did you lie about it?"

"Pearce," Rachel says quietly to him as she sneaks her hand under his arm. She's the only one who can calm him down when he gets angry.

"I just didn't want you to be mad that we didn't do what we said were going to do," Reed says. "But I should've just been honest. Sorry." His eyes go to the floor.

Reed never acts intimidated by people, except for my dad. He's scared to death of him. One, because my dad's big and tall and could knock Reed to the ground with a single punch. And two, because the way my dad looks at you when he's mad and the tone of his voice can be damn scary, especially to someone who doesn't know him that well.

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